Chapter Text
“Alight, they should be getting here soon,” Bobby said, glancing at his phone again as he walked through the empty space in the bay where the ladder truck should have been. They were scheduled to get a new one within the next couple of days, to replace the one that had taken a dive off the cliff. “How are we doing?”
“We’d be doing better if these boys knew how to put a banner up,” Hen groused, crossing her arms and glaring up at Albert and Ravi, the pair of them precariously balanced on ladders. They were trying to attach a banner to the side of the station’s loft and weren’t quite doing it to the paramedic’s standards. “It’s still lopsided! Albert, that is far too low!”
“If you don’t like how it looks, get up here and do it yourself!” Albert shouted down at her.
“If I have to climb up there, I’m pushing you off!”
“Please don’t break my boyfriend,” Ravi sighed from the other end of the banner.
“I have to agree with Ravi,” Chimney said, leaning over the loft railing, which had several powder blue balloons tied to it. He was bouncing Jee-Yun in his arms, the toddler staring down at everyone in interest. “Please don’t maim Albert. I don’t want to have to listen to him whine about it.”
“Hey!”
“I’m thirding that request,” Bobby said. “The paperwork wouldn’t be worth it. How’re things up there?”
“Athena’s just finished putting up the last of the decorations,” Maddie called down, stepping into view beside Chimney. “The cake and cupcakes are all set out. We’re just waiting on Twiddles Dee and Dum.”
As if they had been waiting for their cue, the sound of very familiar voices drifted through the open bay doors. Bobby whirled around and hurried to catch them both before they could stumble upon the surprise. He managed to intercept them just at the front entrance, the engine blocking most of the decorations from view.
“So?” the captain asked, looking between both men. They were both dressed in uniform, partly because they were coming in so late into the shift and partly to give a better impression earlier. “How did it go?”
The two of them glanced at each other, before Buck broke into a wide and blinding grin.
“I’m a dad!” he gushed. “Not that I wasn’t before! But, I mean- Legally! I’m on the certificate and everything now!”
“I’m glad for ya, kid,” Bobby said, cutting off his rambling and dragging him into a tight hug.
“He ugly cried at the end,” Eddie told him, pulling out his phone and showing Bobby a photo. It showed a very weepy Buck squeezing a Chris who was in the middle of trying to wiggle away, though it was clear that it was only for show, judging by the boy’s own smile.
“Of course he did,” Bobby chuckled. “Did he go to school after?”
“Nah,” Buck said, shaking his head. “Carla and Abuela took him out somewhere, probably for ice cream. We all figured he’d be too hyped up to get anything from his classes today. ‘Sides, he’s already missed the entire morning, pretty much.”
“How have the calls been?” Eddie asked, starting towards the locker room with Buck to stow his bag.
“Not too bad,” Bobby told him, glancing towards where the others were just out of sight as he followed the two of them. “We had a call to a daycare. One of the workers fell through a window, all the kids were running around screaming when we got there.”
“And I missed it?” Buck whined.
“Probably for the best,” his husband said. “You’d try to adopt them, too.”
“I would not! Pops, tell him-” Buck fell silent when he turned his head to talk to Bobby, his bag falling to the ground with a soft thump. He was looking past him, to the powder blue balloons and the crooked banner reading ‘It’s a Boy!’ that were visible now that they’d moved around the engine. His smile was almost wider than his face. “Really?”
“Did you expect anything different?” Bobby asked, resisting the urge to roll his eyes. “Go put your bags up, there’s cake.”
“Aye, Cap!” the two chorused before hurrying off, Buck having to stop halfway and come back for his dropped duffel.
The captain left them to it, shaking his head and heading for the station loft. The others had all gathered around the kitchen counter, where the cake and cupcakes were laid out waiting for the Diazes to arrive. There were more balloons, along with streamers and ribbons. His wife was just closing the oven, the lasagna that had been inside it now set on top of the stove.
A few moments later, he could hear Buck and Eddie stomping up the steps.
“Aw, guys,” Buck said, taking in everything. “You’re going to make me cry again.”
“Again?” Maddie asked, coming forward to hug her brother. “Have you already cried today?”
“I have pictures of it,” Eddie told her. He frowned in confusion, pulling up one of the balloons by its string so he could look at the plastic weight keeping it from floating away. “I also have questions. Is this a pacifier?”
“We made the mistake of trusting Chimney and Albert to get the supplies,” Athena said, side-eyeing the brothers.
“They didn’t have anything for adoptions!” Chimney protested. “Stuff for a babyshower was the closest we could find.”
“Close enough,” Buck said. Eddie shrugged in agreement, letting the weight fall back to the floor. “What kind of cake is that?”
“The cupcakes are chocolate,” Hen answered. “The cake is red velvet.”
“Why red velvet?” Ravi asked, from where he was already sitting at the table.
“Because it bleeds when you cut it,” Buck and Hen answered.
“Of course,” the young man said, nodding his head and going along with it. “I totally should have known that.”
“So who was the judge that saw you today?” Athena said, guiding Buck to sit at the table, shoving him into his seat when he tried to go and help Bobby dish out the food. “Anyone I know?”
“Lola Carmichael,” he answered. “She was really nice. Asked Chris some questions, posed for a picture with us afterwards.”
Buck pulled out his phone, handing it to Athena so she could see the picture. Then he got distracted when Chimney sat down beside him, Jee-Yun straining to escape her father’s hold and get to her uncle.
“Chimney went and finally apologized to him the morning after everything with Jonah,” Eddie said, startling Bobby slightly. He hadn’t noticed the man coming up beside him, so focused was he on Buck. “And I heard he tried to strangle the guy, so he’s won himself some points back. How are you, Cap?”
It was the same question Eddie had asked the night before, at Sunday dinner.
“Better,” he answered, the same answer he gave then. “I’m going to an AA meeting after shift, tomorrow.”
“Good,” the other man said, nodding. He pat Bobby on the back and then grabbed a pair of cupcakes off the counter, carrying them to the table. “Does the princessa want a cupcake?”
Jee-Yun switched her focus from one uncle to the other, reaching up for him and saying,
“Ti’die!”
Complete silence fell over them as they all, to a person, turned to stare at Eddie and Jee-Yun.
“What did my daughter just say?” Maddie asked, voice wavering on the urge of hysterical laughter. Hen wasn’t faring much better: when Bobby looked at her, she was clutching at her mouth in a desperate attempt to keep her own laughter contained.
“Oh God,” Eddie muttered, setting down the cupcakes and burying his face in Buck’s shaking shoulder. “Oh God, oh God, oh God.”
“You!” Albert screeched, leaping to his feet and pointing an accusing finger at him. There was chocolate smeared around his mouth. “It was you! You taught her that word!”
“Why did she call you ‘titty’?” Ravi asked.
“It was supposed to be Tio Eddie,” Buck answered for his husband, who was busy trying to crawl into his skin and hide. “But that was apparently too much for her.”
“So we have Uncle Titty instead,” Chimney quipped, and then cowered before Buck’s glare, lifting his giggling daughter up as a shield.
“Oh God,” Eddie said again.
“Who wants lasagna?” Bobby asked, swooping in to save his favorite not-quite-son-in-law. “And who wants cake?”
“I have news!” TK said, the moment Buck answered the phone.
“You nearly died,” he guessed. He was sitting on the bedroom floor, going through a couple boxes that had come with him from the loft and had never been unpacked, to see what could be thrown out or given away before their move. Or, he had been anyway. But then TK called, and his attention was stolen.
“No. Guess again.”
“You got scared of your own happiness and broke up with Carlos.”
“No,” his friend ground out. “I was going to tell you that Carlos and I got a few days off in a row together next month and were going to come visit, but now I’m not sure I want to.”
“Not sure you want to tell me, or not sure you want to make the trip?”
“Yes.”
“Well, you’ve already told me about it,” Buck pointed out, propping his arm on the box he’d been looking through. It was filled with random wires and cords, ones he had no clue what they went to and was therefore hesitant to put in the currently non-existent ‘To Go’ pile. “That means you have to come up, now.”
“Pretty sure that isn’t how it works,” TK rebutted.
“Pretty sure it is,” he said. “If you want any of Abuela’s tamales. Or pops’ mac’n’cheese.”
“I can get tamales here, too.”
“Yeah, but you can’t get Abuela’s tamales.”
“You make a strong argument.” There was noise on TK’s end of the line, the sound of a door opening and someone calling out. “Oh, Carlos is home. Now I don’t have to pretend I like you.”
“Wow, rude. I hope your house catches on fire again.”
“That’s rude,” his friend said, and then hung up.
Buck rolled his eyes, setting his phone down beside him and pushing the box of random cords away. He grabbed the next box and pulled it open, frowning when he noticed it was filled with some loose photographs. There was a scrapbook at the bottom, face down so he couldn’t see what it said.
“What is- Oh.” His breath caught in his throat when he pulled the book out and saw the front. He had totally forgotten he had this.
Eddie knocked on the bedroom door as he poked his head in.
“Dinner’s ready,” he announced. When Buck didn’t immediately answer, he stepped closer, bending down and peering over his shoulder. “Mitchell and Thomas. Why do those names sound familiar? Wait, that was the old couple, right? My third month at the station or so?”
“Yeah,” Buck said, flipping the book open and peering through. A lot of the pictures had been knocked loose the day of the call, and he’d just gathered them up the best he could. He had meant to fix it up, to do his best to put all the pictures back in their proper places, but at the time he was still couch-surfing and then when he got to the loft… Well, along the way it got left in a box and forgotten, until now.
“Why do you have it?” Eddie asked, not unkindly.
“No one else wanted it,” he answered. “I didn’t want to just leave their life on the ground, y’know? And no one came along to collect it.”
“So instead it’s been in a box this entire time.”
“Yeah, not my finest moment,” Buck admitted. He chewed on his lip for a moment, before looking up and asking, “Do we have any glue sticks somewhere? Or- Or double-sided tape?”
“If we don’t, we can go buy some,” Eddie said, offering a hand to help him up. “Dinner first, though, mi sol.”
“Yeah, alright,” Buck said, picking up his phone and taking his husband’s hand, letting himself be hauled to his feet. “What’s for dinner tonight?”
“I threw together a casserole.”
“How burnt is it?”
“It’s not!” Eddie protested, smacking him on the shoulder. “You brat.”
“If you say so. I’m still going to wait until I see you eating it, first,” Buck told him, grinning brightly. “Oh! And TK and Carlos are coming up next month.”
“I wonder if we can rush everything to where they’re here to help us move…”
“Thank you so much for doing this, again,” Buck said, hugging and smacking a kiss on his sister’s cheek when she stepped through their door. Chimney followed, hiding slightly behind her with Jee-Yun in his arms.
“Of course,” Maddie said, smiling at him. “But you’re watching ours next.”
“Of course.”
“He’s not going to hit me with his crutch again, is he?” the paramedic asked, glancing about. Eddie couldn’t help but snicker at the way he looked like a spooked rabbit checking for predators. “Because your kid has an arm on him.”
“It has been made clear to him that hitting is a no-go,” Buck answered. “He’s currently in his room. There’s pizza on the way, and there’s food in the kitchen for Jee.”
“Yes, we know, it’s the same as last time,” his sister told him, pushing at his shoulder. “You two need to get going if you want to avoid traffic.”
“I still don’t know what we’re doing,” Eddie said. “He’s been keeping it a surprise. I didn’t even know we had tonight off until we were leaving our last shift.”
“Maybe you’re getting married again.”
“Nah, I’m saving that for our anniversary,” Buck said, slipping an arm around his husband and slapping a wet kiss on him. He turned his head towards the hall and called out, “Chris! We’re taking off, come say bye!”
“Did you really have to shout in my ear?” Eddie asked, grimacing and rubbing at it.
“Sorry, babe,” he said, though Eddie didn’t think he sounded very apologetic.
They heard Chris’ bedroom door open, and a few moments later the boy himself made his way into the living room. Chimney made an attempt to step farther behind Maddie, but she rolled her eyes and got out of the way entirely. The man looked utterly betrayed.
“Hi Chris!” he tried, smiling widely.
“Hi,” the kid said, and then with far more cheer. “Hi Jee, hi aunt Maddie.”
“Okay kiddo, your pops and I are taking off,” Eddie said, reaching out to ruffle his hair. Chris ducked his head to avoid it. “I’d love to tell you where to, but he hasn’t told me yet.”
“You’ll like it,” Chris said, grinning at him.
“You know!?”
“Duh.”
“Yeah, Eddie,” Maddie said, obviously trying not to laugh at him. “Duh.”
He rolled his eyes and got an elbow to the ribs from his husband.
“You look exactly like our son when you do that,” Buck said. “C’mon, we need to get going, traffic’s going to be a pain.”
“Okay, fine, we’re going,” Eddie said, resisting the urge to roll his eyes again. “Chris, be good for your aunt and uncle.”
“I will,” Chris promised.
“And no violence,” Buck reminded him. “Unless it’s on the TV or in a game.”
“Okay, pops,” the kid sighed, like so much was being asked of him.
“Try not to earn another warning for public indecency,” Maddie told them, a shit-eatting grin firmly on her face that looked just like her brother’s.
“That will absolutely not be happening this time,” Eddie assured her.
“Never say never,” Buck said, winking at him.
It took another few minutes for them to drag themselves away from Chris and Jee-Yun, as it always did. But finally, they made it to the jeep and buckled themselves in, Eddie looking at his husband expectantly.
“So do I get to find out where we’re going?” he asked. “Or do I need to put on a blindfold?”
“Maddie literally just warned us against public indecency, babe,” Buck reminded him with a smirk. “Back floorboard.”
Curious, Eddie reached around the seats, groping blindly until his hand came upon a plastic bag that had not been there the last time he was in here. He grabbed it and pulled it up, eyebrows raising. Reaching in, he pulled out-
“What is this?”
“Baseball jerseys,” Buck said, grinning at him. “One for each of us.”
When Eddie lifted one up to examine it, he saw they were Dodgers jerseys, specifically. And the back, when he looked, had “DIAZ” emblazoned upon it in bold blue letters. He lowered it to look at his husband, who was clearly trying to hide nerves.
“Are these for tonight? Are we going to the game tonight?
“Yup. It’s firefighter appreciation night, too. We’ll get free hats, babe.”
“You don’t like baseball,” Eddie couldn’t help but point out. “You fall asleep on me every time I put it on.”
“I know,” Buck admitted with a shrug. “But you like it.”
Screw public indecency, Eddie thought as he dropped the jersey and lunged forward. His husband was the best husband, and that should be rewarded properly.
(Maddie ended up startling them apart five minutes later by obnoxiously rapping on the driver side window, looking highly amused.
The Dodgers lost - horribly - but Eddie still felt like a winner.)
On the first weekend of June, in the Wilsons’ backyard, there was a wedding. Harry and May weren’t there for it, because they had already taken off for Florida. It was originally going to be Toni’s wedding to her reunited beloved, Clive, but she had decided at the last minute to put the spotlight on her daughter and daughter-in-law.
Which, personally, Buck thought was really sweet of her.
When he and Eddie arrived, at the same time as Chimney and Maddie, they found Hen and Karen peering over one of the tables as event staff finished setting up. They were both dressed nicely, but not ‘I’m renewing my devotion to the love of my life’ nicely. Maybe they were planning on changing before the event proper?
“Did you order enough linens for this one one, too?” he heard Karen ask as they came up to them.
“I ordered exactly what you told me to,” Hen said. Honestly, Buck didn’t understand why she complained so much about how he got with a clipboard, when she clearly married someone cut from the same cloth.
“We thought you could use a hand,” Chimney said, announcing their presence.
“Or a few hands,” Eddie quipped.
“What are you doing here?” Hen asked, which just confused Buck, because-
“Why wouldn’t we be here?” he asked in turn. “We weren’t going to miss this.”
“Miss what?”
Miss what? Miss. What?
Buck glanced between the two women, taking in how they looked utterly confused. As if they had absolutely no idea what he was talking about. As if they didn’t know that the day was about them. Which just. Did not make sense. It was as if-
“No,” he intoned, aghast, as he turned on Eddie. “She stole my idea!”
“I think you should ask your mom,” Chimney said, before taking flight for the refreshments with Maddie.
“Yeah, we’re gonna go get drinks,” Eddie told them, grabbing his husband by the wrist and dragging him away, still complaining. “Ignore Buck.”
“Babe, no! You don’t understand! She stole my idea and she did it better! That- This isn’t- Babe! Babe, stop laughing at me, this is serious! She did my idea better!”
He kept grumbling up until they were all seated, because how dare Toni show him up like this? Eddie, bless him, at least pretended to listen to it, nodding along and agreeing at the right moments. Which was better than what Athena and Bobby did: they just rolled their eyes and walked away, which had him complaining about that, too.
It was a lovely ceremony, of course. Karen had helped plan his own wedding not six months ago, so it really went without saying. At some point, they stepped inside the house and came back out in a white gown - for Karen - and a white suit - for Hen. Buck wasn’t certain if they just happened to have clothes that were perfectly suitable for an impromptu vow renewal, or if Toni had somehow managed to get their sizes and go shopping for them.
Honestly, at this point, he wouldn’t be shocked if it was the latter.
(They could have been what they wore to their original, actual wedding. But Buck was pretty sure Hen was more buff now than she was when he started at the station, so the suit probably wouldn’t still fit.)
Afterwards, there was food and dancing. And Buck danced with Eddie, even if he was horrible at it, because his husband liked to dance and Buck was going to take every opportunity he could to make him smile.
“So I had a thought the other day,” Buck said, pausing to shake his head at Albert and Ravi, who were… Well, he supposed what they were doing could be considered dancing, somehow. At least they seemed to be having fun.
“A thought?” Eddie prompted, squeezing his hips where he was holding on.
“I think you should look into getting paramedic certified.”
His husband paused their movement to look at him.
“Why?” he asked.
“Do you want the logical argument or the selfish reason?”
“Both.”
“Okay, well, uh. Hen’s going to be ditching us for a fancy doctor job in just a couple years, right? So there’ll be a spot open, and you filled in for Chimney last year. Plus it’ll be a pay bump, right?”
“Right,” Eddie agreed, nodding. “And the selfish reason?”
Buck let out a sigh, leaning forward to rest his forehead on Eddie’s.
“The selfish reason is that pops seems really dead set on me being captain when he retires,” he told him. “And I absolutely hated when you were in that burning building without me.”
Eddie let out a thoughtful hum and started moving them again. As always, their movements were subdued compared to everyone else’s, lest they risk breaking Eddie’s toes. Buck wondered if it bothered him any, that he had a husband with two left feet?
A spiral for later.
“Strong arguments.”
“It was just a thought,” Buck reiterated. “You can just ignore it. Obviously.”
“We have time,” Eddie said. “I’ll think about it.”
Buck nodded, because he wasn’t expecting his husband to just agree to a career change. It was just a thought, and a selfish one, like he said. But he really did dread the idea of being stuck outside another burning building with Eddie not responding on the radio.
“Today was nice.”
“It was,” the other man agreed. “They look happy.”
They both turned their heads to look at Hen and Karen, currently spinning each other in circles and laughing. Denny was doing the same with little Nia in her flower girl outfit, while Toni recorded the entire thing on her phone.
“We have a bigger house now,” Buck said, apropos of nothing.
“We do,” Eddie said. “All we have to do is move ourselves into it, and then move Abuela in.”
“And then, we can really start on getting Chris a brother or sister,” he said, leaning forward to kiss him. The other man smiled into it.
“I cannot wait.”
Fin.